11 Signs You’re Called to Be a Shaman

It was late into the night that I drank a mixture of what appeared to be pulverized herbs.

The haunting sounds of a song suddenly appeared around me, intensifying my feelings of being utterly lost in an alien universe. The sounds that kept drawing me in, had a pleading quality that made me want to weep with sorrow.

As I started singing, I realized my song was inviting the spirit of the herb to move into my body. I wanted it to stop, to be over but in that moment I knew it was too late, I had left this reality.

I was canoeing through the infinite stream of the unconscious mind, and the song was my solitary paddle. It was up to me to avoid the rapids and control the currents by making the song more beautiful, by begging the Spirit of the herb to guide and heal me.

This was my initiation into shamanism. But before this experience, I had to first understand and identify the signs of my shamanic calling.

What is a Shaman?

At its most basic level, shamanism can be understood as a collection of ancient techniques that help to awaken and expand consciousness, as well as heal humanity’s inner wounds.

Shamanic practice is the earliest known form of religion that our ancestors experienced. The different number of spiritual techniques used to expand our conscious and provoke mystical experiences was astonishing. These techniques ranged from chanting, fasting, and nature immersion, to incessant trance dancing and ingesting hallucinogenic plants.

Unlike most religions where the main concern is finding answers, the Shaman is more interested in provoking you to ask the right questions that will lead you to experience truth. The Shaman doesn’t pursue meaning: he or she creates it by bringing the sacred to an otherwise mundane reality.

The word “Shaman” first originated in Siberia as the word “samarambi” meaning “to excite oneself,” and “sam-dambi” meaning to dance. The shaman, therefore, excites himself into a divine frenzy or ecstasy through drum beating and dancing, until he passes into a trance when his spirit leaves his body.

The scholar of comparative religion and anthropologist Mirca Eliade gave us the most simple shaman definition as “specialists in ecstasy,” with an impressive list of abilities including thought-reading, clairvoyance, firewalking, and spirit interaction, just to name a few.

It’s these moments of ecstasy, of ego loss, that provide an experience of reality that is larger, deeper, and infinitely more exquisitely beautiful. Shamans worldwide know that in order to understand society and live more fully attuned to reality, they need to go wild, travel out of their normal minds, and visit the invisible world of Spirit, which is the undercurrent of the visible world.

By accessing the invisible realm, Shamans can tap into a powerful way of guiding their lives and the lives of others.

Training as Wounded Healers

By the time we become adults, most of us are so alienated from ourselves and the earth, indoctrinated by media, and deluded by “false needs” created by the consumer culture, that there’s little hope for us connecting with the other worlds surrounding us.

In tribal cultures, shamans or healers often experienced an illness that gave them the insight they needed to heal themselves and then bring wisdom to their people. This experience echoes Socrates notion that “Our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness.”

It’s often through great struggle that Shamans break free from their illnesses and awaken to the truth. By learning how to cure themselves, they also learn how to cure others.

It’s because of this initiation process that Shamans are often called “Wounded Healers.”

11 Signs of the Shamanic Calling

There are three stages of becoming a Shaman: the Calling, Training, and Initiation process.

In the past, you were trained by a mentor or an older Shaman but in today’s world, most Shamans won’t know how to recognize their calling to even begin their training. Most people undergoing a shamanic calling won’t understand what is happening to them and will, therefore, feel overwhelmed by fear.

But it’s through training that the Shaman-in-making becomes a master of the sacred; of being abe to effectively find, protect, and use the creative but intense energies of the sacred for therapeutic or other beneficial purposes.

Here are some of the signs you might experience if you’re being called to the Shamanic path:

1) You feel a strong connection to nature

Shamans understand “the web of life”; that everything on Earth is deeply interconnected through the web of Spirit. Nothing embodies this understanding better than nature, how it nurtures us, and how we nurture it in a mutually dependent relationship.

2) You enjoy solitude and find it hard to fit in with others

Shamans in most cultures were solitary individuals (often living in the outskirts of the village), and they were often considered eccentric or “different.”

However, they were respected because of the wisdom they shared. Because of their unique gifts and sensitivities, Shamans could never fit into typical society because they acted as the bridges between this world and the unseen worlds.

To be a Shaman you must experience a complete “death and rebirth,” and often this can present itself as a temporary illness or shocking crisis of some kind.

It’s through overcoming and healing from this terrifying ordeal that the Shaman-to-be surrenders everything they know as true for whatever wisdom they’re meant to learn.

4) You’ve felt a subtle healing energy in your hands

Many Shamans are born with the capacity to act as “curanderos,” as masters of living energy. In other words, they have the ability to control and manipulate the energy in their bodies and the bodies of others.

Carrying healing energy is often manifested as having good circulation of blood in your hands. Your hands will almost always feel warm to the touch (or even boiling hot) and you might sometimes feel subtle energy emanating from them.

5) You have the ability to “read” others

Some Shamans are born with the gift of “vision” or the capacity to look at other people and see the illness they may be carrying or spiritual obstacle they must overcome.

People with a shamanic calling frequently report psychic abilities such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, or other paranormal experiences.

6) You have ancestors who were healers or medical herbalists

Many cultures believe that the gift of being a Shaman is inherited and can only be passed down through generations.

Of course, in today’s world, it’s almost impossible to know whether any of our ancestors were healers as our recent ancestors, much like ourselves, never claimed and cultivated this Shamanic gift.

7) You have vivid or prophetic dreams

Some Shamans are born with the natural ability to travel between realms, to bring back information, and even see visions of future events through their dreams.

8) You are visited by spirit animals

Animals or hybrid animals (half animal half human) play a big role in the Shaman’s journey. Spirit animals serve as Guides that share vital information and serve as reminders whenever we require their help.

9) You see things that others can’t see

The ability to access other realms and hidden dimensions can start at a very early age. To be an effective Shaman you must have the fluidity of mind to be open and receptive to new information.

It’s this unique trait that has resulted in many Shamans being labeled and prescribed as mentally ill by modern medicine.

10) You have physical abnormalities that set you apart

In the past, many physical characteristics such as being born with extra fingers, toes or with a caul (thin membrane) covering your head at birth were considered omens that a person has a special relationship with the spirit world.

11) You feel a calling to help, heal or ease the suffering of others

Ultimately, Shamanism can be seen as a practice of balancing or self-correcting our relationship with others and the natural world around us.

Whenever a Shaman sees suffering, they’ll feel a strong desire to heal it in order to re-establish that lost harmony within the web of life.

***

The fact that you’re looking up or reading this article on Shamanism is a sign you’ve been guided to learn about something very few people are interested in.

These signs may be general and can happen to a lot of people, but in truth, many of us are being called by spiritual forces, yet few of us answer that calling.

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Some may be able to go through life without listening to this spiritual calling, while others might experience depression and physical illness the more they close off and neglect to listen.

So what happens once you do listen to your calling, how can you find training? Ideally, nothing is more effective than training and learning under a mentor or spiritual guide. Shamanism is a spirituality that is experienced, not thought about or theorized. The internet can be useful in allowing you to look up local practitioners that may offer apprenticeships, though be discerning and aware as this field is open to much trickery.

For those who can’t find local mentors, I’ll continue writing and training further in future articles. This might not be the same as a real-life apprenticeship, but it provides the fundamental information necessary to prepare you for your (usually unexpected) initiation.

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About Mateo Sol

Mateo Sol is a prominent psychospiritual counselor and mentor whose work has influenced the lives of thousands of people worldwide. Born into a family with a history of drug addiction, schizophrenia, and mental illness, Mateo Sol was taught about the plight of the human condition from a young age. As a spiritual counselor and mentor, Sol’s mission is to help others experience freedom, wholeness, and peace in any stage of life. [Read More]

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Hello, About 15 years ago I was struck by lightning. It is so weird because it was a pretty day not a cloud in the sky no wind or nothing. I was standing in front of my barn and boom. I heard a loud clap and I saw a tunnel and at the end of the tunnel I saw a blue light about the size of the kiddie swimming pools you buy at Dollar General, and at the end of the tunnel in the blue light I saw arms reaching out to me and bodies, I could not tell who they were. The next thing I remember after that is my husband telling me him and his son carried me into the house. They said they could not feel a pulse but finally they felt one. My shoulder was broke as a result of the lightning. Up the road from our house about a mile was a tree that was completely broke into that had not been like that, it looked like lightning got it. I was also deaf for a weak as a result of all this. Since then I have been having dreams and later on the dreams I had actually turn real. I have encountered a wolf while walking at my Dad’s farm. I see eagles in the most unusual places flying where no eagles should be. I can see dark shadows and when my neighbor passed away I saw her late husband standing beside her bed looking down on her the day before she passed away. All this is new to me. I accept it all and would like to learn more.

Hello.
I have very vivid dreams, able to conduct readings for people, can sense body pains/ailments in some people, can see spirits and communicate with them, many people come see me. Recently in a vision, I was shown how to change my way of eating, change my spiritual room completely, and I hear the sounds of drumming and chanting on a regular basis. My great grandmother was a healer, and I have family members who are psychics, mediums, clairvoyant etc. I’m not sure why I am telling you all of this but I have learned to always listen to the great voice, listen to my own intuition and feelings. That has always worked for me. I don’t think it’s something people can just learn, it should come naturally you either have it or you don’t. I enjoyed your article. Many blessings your way.

Hello- I am currently on my spiritual journey and for some reason, I keep getting pointed to the Shaman in various ways, through radio messages literally talking about a Shaman journey (was not searching for it), spiritual animals research e.g. butterflies that flow me or show up everywhere, etc. However, I do not “check all the boxes” of the 11 signs.
Any ideas why the Shaman keeps showing up? I feel like the universe is pointing me in that direction.

I have been very in tune with the spiritual realm since I was a small child. I have always even to this day astral projects and passed over last year and returned with a message I cannot decode at this time. I have always been a healer of others when they are in my presence fevers and body aches tend to leave them. It puzzles me that I can heal them but not myself. I’ve had cancer twice and now suffer from an autoimmune disease sarcoidosis and RA. Im looking for the meaning of all this.

Ivr read a lot when i was a kid and now. So how and where csn i train? With hom? I come from a very small countrie. And for me it would be easier to talk out, but if u need my story, just let me know whete could i share it and with who…

Wow…amazing stories. So many similar to me.
I am sitting here writing this and thinking and woundering how I got here and the only thing I have come up with is I am a 49 year old that still relives and lives in her past every day.

Also, I am the child of two drug addicts. My mother remarried so I was blessed with a step father who was stable and provided . He was not affectionate so I still struggled with feeling unloved. I saw the matrix at age 11 and that unlocked something in me. I was obsessed. Trying to decipher the meaning. By age 18 I began my journey into metaphysical matters. I was previously a very very passionate Christian aka “Jesus Freak.” I became addicted to deciphering the unseen realm and what this reality is. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 12. The thyroid was completely removed and I had radioactive iodine treatment twice to kill any left over cancerous tissue. Only one I had a partial astral projection. I left my body from the hips up, turned around and saw myself sleeping, freaked out and woke up. I currently healing myself by doing shadow work and transmuting all the negativities in my physical world by altering my beliefs in my ego. In that sense I feel like an alchemist. I can’t say that too many of those signs fit me. But I have a deep need to want to master and heal myself so that I can help and heal others. I am so isolated. There is no one in my dream that is awake or developed spiritually. I see so much pain and lack . How am I to continue growing when I do not have a teacher or tribe? I don’t know if I’m a shaman, but I know I want to be a Master so that I can help.

I grew up thinking that crows were a bad omen. I was always aware of the crows as a child because of this. They would watch me Walk to the bus as a kid as they say in light posts lol. They would in large groups and be on my lawn. One day i walked out and noticed a crow on my neighbors lawn. He didn’t fly away. He was giving me this sense that something was wrong. I approached the crow. It allowed me to pet it. I soon realized it was I’ll. I provided it water which it drank a lot of. But the crow died within the hour. We buried the crow. I have no clue what that signified. Not only did I already have a belief that crows were omens, but then one dies under my care? Please help me make sense of this.

I’m lost…I have no clue what I’m doing with myself as of now but I don’t feel like I belong here. I feel like there are other wolrds and sometimes I see images in my head of those worlds and I don’t know what to do with them. They drove me crazy for a point in time… I’m almost 17 right now and I have some spiritual abilities though they’re deeply faded at this point in time. When I was younger I almost died from an illness where my muscles stopped working but that was only a virus that passed quickly. I’ e always felt connected to things like animals and nature and drum beats and I was reading about shamanism and felt sort of connected to the idea. I want to find spiritual wholeness and break my ego and figure out what I’m doing here and why I see the things I do and why I have intense feelings towards magic and things not of this world. Even now I feel crazy saying all of this…but I feel so lost. I need some sort of guidance because I don’t know my purpose in this world. I want to heal and help people, I want to establish my connection with the earth and nature and have spiritual experiences…I just don’t know where to start or what to do. If anyone has any insight on any of this I would love to hear…

Ali,
I don’t have all the answers and maybe not even information you don’t know.
It seems simple…but your purpose is love. You must learn to love yourself so that you may love others. Just as the article says you learn to heal yourself then others.
A few basic truths I have learned.
Love is all there is.
I Am
It Is
They are

The inner workings and Every detail of a subject are not always necessary…sometimes…it is…is enough. (This includes earth, work, Astral realms, everything)

Remembering that humans are our same energy…are part of the oneness we came from is one of the most difficult things I have had to learn how to deal with. I work in a field that brings out some of the worst traits we have. Being an empath makes this even more complicated. We must realize that lessons are learned in many ways and we will Not understand them all. The paths cross…but none are the same. They are….they are.

All information is at your disposal all the time. Your spirit holds it. Your guides, angels, masters. Do not hesitate to ask Mom or Dad directly. Visit the oneness. It brings amazing peace.

You do not need to know how. You already know. You only need to be reminded. You’ve done it before.

Do not be afraid to show who you are. All things happen for a reason. Small towns? Outcasts? Release the fear and Know who you are….Remember who you are. The world will come to you. The world wants and needs the light.

We are a small group still. We will grow and we will teach and heal and love.

Ali….you are blessed to be awakened so young. It is not easy but you have Many fruitful happy years ahead. Continue to fight, continue to Be, continue to love.

From what I have read 9 out of 11 signs signify things that I have knowledge about that happen around me. I find it difficult to live through the teachings I was given growing up, to the point that I feel I am a Shaman. All this is new to me and look forward to teaching and experiences. I have came across all this for a reason. And I will surve my purpose in the spirtual relm. May the the spirit be with me and guide me at all times.

Idk how or where to begin… But yes i hv heard n seen things others dont, i hv found things which is hard to believe, i hv profound n strong connection with nature,animals….n once i had decided to renounce my life as an engineer n enter d spiritual world as i received enough experiences to convince my innerself dat this is not what i was born for but my family put me in a psychiatric hospital n gave injections which subdued my resolute into being one,doc said i was acute maniac n having mood swings due to an excessively working mind, so yes i did not fit in as i had begun to speak about things others could not understand, but now i realise i shouldnt hv done that bcoz its like trying to mk a layman(of d time b4 newton) understand gravity in order to mk him believe that d earth is moving around d sun n not d other way around as one would generally see n feel…….
How do u explain things i hv gone through like a special something (spiritual object i once possessed) which i had kept/placed atop a glass of water on d table suddenly vanish n fall straight into it with a click sound right in front of my own eyes!!! … Yes it seems insane even i was as shell shocked as u r at d moment reading this!!! got up to see wher it fell all of a sudden, searched all around d table as u wld hv done but it was nowher to be seen….got up 2 see if my eyes had tricked me but nope as i saw only d glass of water, now wher in d world could it hv gone!!! n den i had a peep beneath d table n to my utter bemusement it was stuck straight right below on d lower shelf!!! How on earth can or would science justify a wooden object piercing a wooden table without making a hole or an entry point…… Since that day i started to believe in things which i had never believed before!!! Miracles do take place…… Our birth or a seed growing into a tree itself is a miracle..everyday something amazing is happening around us…. V only need to oen d eyes of our shut up mind

Thank you for this information. A loner as a kid. Grew up in remote location close to nature with my dad. Not many friends in school. Preferred to be alone – like I knew I was different. Drawn to Wicca but then lost my path. Found it again almost 28 years later with Yoga Teacher training. Feel drawn to Reiki and Shamanism again. Found an old box of books – Shamanism a Beginners Guide. It must be 25 years old and just showed up last week. Interesting. Lots of 11:11 showing up as well. Leading a New Moon Women’s Circle last night and a new to the group woman, who is also a healer, looked at me and told me that I have a very bright aura. Interesting. I said that I was thinking about taking Shaman training. She told me that I already am a Shaman and not to waste my money. I was blown away. Then she asked if I had been to a psychic recently – I had. I have not told anyone. I have spent the day in a joyous state. Electrified. I am not sure what comes next but I feel that I need to find some guidance. So, thank you for your page.

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About Us

Walk the path less traveled

Our names are Aletheia Luna and Mateo Sol and we currently live in Perth, Western Australia.

Our mission is to help others embrace the path of the lone wolf and listen to the soul’s calling. Our goal is to provide a grounded and balanced perspective of spirituality that doesn’t bypass the raw, real, and messy aspects of spiritual growth or psychological development.

We are deeply drawn to exploring and exposing both the light and shadow side of human nature and spirituality. We strive towards integration, balance, wholeness, and embracing both the sacred and wild aspects of being human. Read more.